


With You, Without Her

by onenightgirl



Category: Blake Shelton (Musician), Gwen Stefani (Musician), Shefani, The Voice (US) RPF
Genre: AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:22:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21928141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onenightgirl/pseuds/onenightgirl
Summary: “In each loss there is a gain,As in every gain there is a loss,And with each new endingcomes a new beginning.”—Buddhist proverb
Relationships: Blake Shelton/Gwen Stefani
Comments: 22
Kudos: 56





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, long time no see! Even I can’t believe I’m back to writing fanfics, honestly. So I can imagine your surprise to see this post lol. Anyway, here it is, no spoilers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, long time no see! Even I can’t believe I’m back to writing fanfics, honestly. So I can imagine your surprise to see this post lol. Anyway, here it is, no spoilers...

It was already way past midnight by the time she laid her slim body down on the cold, white sheets that covered the empty bed’s mattress. Her platinum blonde hair, messy and drenched due to the lack of brushing plus the long steamy shower she had taken just minutes before, covered her beautiful but also visibly broken features, as the silence, which tempted to lull the woman to fall unconscious, continuously got interrupted by only the delicate noises of her breathing and the loud thinking of her overenergetic mind. She was all alone in the immensity of her Los Angeles mansion after an exhausting day, with not a convincing reason holding her back from hibernating for the next month or so, the exclusive obstacle being the thoughts that seemly couldn’t let her brain shut down. 

With her three children away for over one week and a half, she didn’t have much to do but throw herself deep into her second biggest passion, her work. So, since the kids left for London to spend some not so needed time with their bastard of a father, she got into the studio every day by 7am, leaving solely when her vision got too foggy for the lyrics of her songs to keep being written correctly. It was the first time she was left completely by herself in over 9 months and she felt like going back to writing music after so long would be the first step to being sane again, to healing. Thank God, she was right. The words she wrote filled with hurt, anger, sadness and mourning were slowly saving her, letting herself unhurriedly out of the dark whole she so suddenly got into, right after  _it_ happened . 

The last days, kidless but musically impregnated, surprisingly made her start to sleep again, not for long but enough for her to get out of bed, get dressed and leave her house to put her depressing thoughts into paper. It maybe seems like an easy task for most, but for someone who for a little more than a week before wouldn’t move a finger if not for her boys wishes, it was a whole lot of improvement. Today was different, though. The sleep didn’t come as easily as the previous nights, as her brain kept replaying the events she accidentally experienced hours earlier, events that brought all the incredibly tragic memories back and made her heart break into a million pieces all over again, just like 9 months ago. 

** 3 hours before  ** ****

Gwen was the last one to leave the studio, as is the custom. The sun was long gone, replaced by the stars and moon that occupied the vastness of the californian dark sky. The streets were not as crowded as usual, making the blonde realize how late it had gotten. Looking to her phone’s lockscreen she got her confirmation, it was indeed late, a little after 9pm. With a loud sigh, she decided to head to her car and stop by in a near restaurant since she wasn’t feeling like cooking herself something, which wasn’t surprising, she wasn’t up for much these days. 

So that’s what she did. In the next five minutes, she found herself parking into a tiny pizza place, which looked not so full and a lot quiet, both the reasons that made her get inside without a second thought. The world famous singer entered the establishment with her head down, a cap covering her platinum blonde locks as a pour attempt of a disguise, being recognized the last thing she wanted at the moment. She got herself seated quickly at the darkest corner of the place she could spot, her purse being thrown at the chair by her side as the waitress arrived to get her order. 

“Goodnight, what can I get you, miss?” The girl nicely questioned, by the barely adult’s voice, Gwen sensed the teen had no idea who she was, which made her exhale with relief. 

“Hi, I want any vegetarian pizza flavor you have, please.” She said without looking the waitress in the eye, adding firmly seconds later, “To go.” 

“You got it! It will be ready in fifteen.” 

A soft humming sound left her mouth and suddenly she was left alone again. Biting her classic red painted bottom lip, she thought about what to do the next 10 minutes while waiting for her food. She could stare into space and think about how horrible her life is or how much she missed all of her babies, but speedily decided against it and grabbed her phone instead. The device showed her she got a few missed calls from her mother, sister in law and one of her brothers but she didn’t care to call back, not yet, anyways. She didn’t want to feel like a child who needed to be checked in by her family every few hours. So swiping through it, the blonde unlocked her Instagram and tried to keep herself entertained by the photos posted by the ones she followed. It actually worked for solid 4 minutes, until she heard the door of the pizza place being opened, mixed with the loud sound of an apparently little girl’s laugh. The second she listened to the beautiful, captivating noise, her vision left the device’s screen, all her attention instantly driven to the entry of the restaurant.

“Daddy, you’re so funny!” The tiny human cried out as the tall man, who closely held her to his chest, made funny faces and seemly whispered jokes into her left ear. 

Gwen couldn’t help but stare as father and daughter happily looked for a place to sit, not taking long to settle down only a few tables away from her. She found herself quickly getting hypnotized by the child’s beauty. The caramel and slightly curly long hair contoured the round flawless face, which was blessed with the most stunning pair of big blue eyes and a perfectly sculpted nose. A cute plaid dress covered the small body of the still smiling girl, who didn’t seem older than five years old. 

Before she could save herself from her own painful thoughts, the singer began to wonder what outfit  _her_ little girl would be wearing in that same occasion, being five and laughing enthusiastically as she sat by her side on the table while they waited for their pizza to arrive. She wondered what  _her_ daughter would look like, her imagination drawing the child to be a mini version of herself, the only drastic adaptation being the color of her hair, naturally medium blonde. She would have an angelic voice that would get herself out of any kind of trouble, just like the chocolate immensity of her eyes, that would make every person melt with just a stare. She would be perfect, of that Gwen was completely sure. The kid would be always carrying a huge smile on her face, she thought, the most perfect sight a mother could ask for. A sight she would never be able to witness, not anywhere else but inside her own mind. 

Without her consent, a single tear filled with mourning slowly rolled down her cheek, abruptly cutting her hurtful daydreaming short. The blonde became slightly dizzy as she got out of the trance she was just in, the pain consuming her destroyed heart too fast for her weak body to handle it the right way. Her hands harshly gripped the hard wooden table with force, the tips of her fingers getting redder with each passing second. That was when she realized her eyes had closed in between her delusions and short moments later she decided to open them, aware of the fact she couldn’t run out of that place without being able to see. She never regretted the simple act of opening her eyes more. 

The instant she got her vision back, even if blurred, Gwen could see two pairs of eyes curiously and worriedly looking in her direction. First she locked orbs with an ocean of blue, unmistakably owned by the little girl she very recently couldn’t stop ogling, followingly the platinum blonde was presented with the sight of a new kind of blue, a shade brighter, equally mesmerizing, which she understood belonged to the kid’s parent. That being said, the singer weirdly sensed this man, whose existence she was only then starting to acknowledge, was able to see into her majorly damaged soul, his mesmerizing stare so intense, making her feel exposed, vulnerable like the most delicate kind of glass ever confectioned. As her brain ordered herself to hurriedly look away, a bubbly, feminine voice reached her ears, her desperate thinking interrupted on the spot. 

“Here’s your pizza! It’s 25 dollars. ” The waitress announced as she deposited the food in the table, thankfully unaware of the deplorable state her costumer was in. 

An extremely deep and relived sigh left the singer’s mouth, one small hand immediately trying to dry her barely wet face, as the other clumsily went for her purse, reaching for a fifty-dollar bill. 

“Thanks. Keep the change.” She faintly whispered, not convinced the teen was able to hear her feeble words. 

Without waiting for a response, the mom of three, no,  _four_ , hastily got up with her belongings in hands. Practically running to the exit, she could feel the little girl’s father’s eyes still on her, which only made her turn the door’s knob with more desperation, the need to leave that place and be able to fall apart where no one could see or judge her too massive for her to care if she seemed like an insane broken middle aged woman who definitely looked mentally unstable. Maybe that was the real her now, she needed to accept it sooner or later. 

Already inside the confines of her expensive car, Gwen sloppily dropped the pizza box over the passenger side alongside her purse, her aching head soon falling against the seat she was resting on. A loud, desolated yell left her lungs as the tears started drenching her anguished features and defeated sobs escaped her mouth. She let herself completely fall apart, as the pain and memories became once again unbearable, the tragic loss she suffered not many months before still raw, still destroying the remains of her soul each time she is reminded of  _it_ , of the loss of her little angel, her miracle that got mercilessly taken away from her arms. 

“Why would God be this cruel?! Why to me? What did I do to deserve this?” The grieving mother screamed furiously in between never ending sobbing. “Fucking hell!” Bawled fists punched the car’s steering wheel frantically, as a miserably failed effort to make the physical pain be stronger than the emotional one, the pain that was slowly, but expertly, killing her. 

There, in the close to empty restaurant’s parking lot, she stayed crying, yelling and lamenting to herself, her little girl and God until her figure didn’t have anymore energy or water to waste. Thirty minutes had to pass so her body could lose all the strength it once possessed, getting itself utterly dehydrated, powerless. As the tears stopped falling and the sobs began to cease, the blonde loosely hugged her own legs against her chest, her forehead resting over her knees as she struggled to control her heavy breathing. 

The moment she started to feel a little more calm, at least ready to find her composure so she could finally head home, a light knock given to the car’s window startled her, making a squeaking sound escape her red colored mouth. Gwen’s head rapidly went up, her swollen and scared eyes instantly looking to where the noise came from. She was met with those bright blue orbs once again, the tall man who held his daughter, this time on his shoulders, was gazing at her carefully, with pity, seemingly regretful to have interrupted whatever she was doing. A second time she felt too vulnerable duo to his eyes. 

“Hey, I’m so sorry to scare you and to intrude.” The man said with a cautious smile. His beautifully mainly voice had a strong country twang, distracting, she could tell even if it was being muffled by the glass of the window. When he sensed she wasn’t about to give him any kind of response he added, “You forgot your phone inside the restaurant, just want to give it back to you.” 

“We want to give it back!” The angelic little girl exclaimed excitedly.

Realizing she kept staring like a lunatic and how deplorable she must look, the blonde shook her head and swiftly tried to make herself look presentable, which she didn’t really succeed. Rolling the window down in a quick movement, she cleared her throat while staring anywhere but at him or his child, deciding to ignore the girl’s presence so she wouldn’t go back to crying. 

“Uh, sorry, I didn’t even noticed it... Thanks.” She hesitantly mumbled, not reaching out to grab the device from the stranger’s large hand. The next words left her without any consent. “How did you- how could you know I was still here?”

“Before you think I’m a stalker, I’m not.” The man declared calmly, sensing her uneasiness. “My daughter” He said, pointing to the smiling child on his shoulders. Those two words made her heart ache. “saw the phone over the table you were seated and I picked it up so I could ask my assistant to contact yours and send it back to you. When I was about to leave I saw you here, accidentally by the way, so... here we are.”

“Oh, you know who I... Oh.” She whispered, awareness hitting her like a brick.

“Yes, I do. It’s hard to not know you.” He answered, not knowing he couldn’t have uttered anything worse. 

His explaining made her cheeks turn a deep hue shade. For several minutes she forgot she was a world famous artist, easily recognizable. For several minutes, she was only Gwen, the broken one. Now, a man who knew who she was and just presenced all of her craziness, could easily tell the press about how she gazed at his child like a maniac, stormed out of a pizza place looking miserable and spent the next half an hour locked inside her car, probably crying her eyes out by the looks of it. She couldn’t let that kind of story get out, it would be her end, the last good thing in her life would be gone, as a story like that could help Gavin get full custody of her boys, a concrete prove of her not being stable enough to care for the kids. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest with only the horrible thought, the palms of her hands getting sweaty and the tears once more threatening to be spilled. The guy in front of her didn’t look like someone who was a gossipy person, not even slightly, but taking the risk was not a viable option. 

“Please, don’t tell this to anyone, I beg you!” She bit her lip nervously, eventually finding the man’s gaze again, desperation flooding out of her. “I mean, me being here, like this, everything you saw, just forget it, please!”

The little girl quietly stared at the woman with doubt, while her father, seeming extremely astonished but surprisingly not confused by the desolated request, directed a pitiful but understanding smile the blonde singer’s way, an effort to make her realize it wasn’t in his plans to expose her. Sensing only the gesture wasn’t close to enough, the man deeply sighed before pronouncing his next sentence. 

“I wouldn’t dare to do that to you since I hate people with all my being when they do that to  me .” He spoke gently, a joke followingly leaving his mouth. “I wouldn’t want  _the_ Gwen Stefani to hate me.” 

A massive wave of relief rushed through her as the panic she felt gladly started to dissipate. Taking a profound breath, a tiny and thankful smile was formed by her lips, the first  _real_ one her features had produced all week. Her previous nervousness so acute, the only thing she heard him say was the “I wouldn’t”. 

“Thank you, so, so, so much, um...” She began to exclaim and remembered she had no idea what was his name. 

“I’m Blake.” He let out a chuckle, a boyish grin occupying his face. “And the only reason you have to thank me is for bringing your phone to you, which, by the way, I’m still holding!” 

The singer’s cheeks turned bright red one more time, as she acknowledged what he said. She promptly grabbed the device from the man’s hand. “Oh God, I forgot about the phone! I’m sorry! You must be tired of holding it.”

“It’s fine.” He smiled again, as the child with him mirrored his expression, looking impressively like him, and put her small hand on the top of his head. “And this is my daughter, Rose.” 

“I’m Rose!” The beautiful girl happily blurted out. 

The word  _daughter_ and the reminder of the girl’s presence made the expression full of hurt come back forcefully to Gwen’s face, but what pained her the most, what made her sense the maddening tightness engulfing her chest, was definitely the groundbreaking discovery of the child’s name.  _Rose_ . The same exact way she named her baby, her little princess, her angel. As she felt like throwing up right there and then, the blonde gulped loudly to suppress the vomit from leaving her throat. 

“Um, I have to go, Blake. Thank you for... you know. Bye.” With a terribly fake smile and forcing her already tearful gaze away from both father and child, she rolled up the window without waiting for a response. 

In a blink of an eye, Gwen was turning her vehicle’s engine on, the sobs making another unwanted appearance the second she left the parking lot behind. She fell apart for the second occasion that day, this time around being careful to be completely sure no one could listen or witness her misery. As she headed home and cried, the only thing she was sure about was that far away, in heaven, Rose Miracle Stefani was looking down at her, as a guardian angel, protecting  _ her _ mom so she wouldn’t die from a car crash while mourning  _ her _ death for the billionth time in over 270 days.

The defeated blonde arrived home and headed straight to her bathroom, the vegetarian pizza ordered by the singer an hour before long forgotten in the backseat of her car. 


	2. II

The two mothers were comfortably sitting at one of the giant patio’s couches, half full glasses of expensive red wine hanging on their left hands, as both peacefully watched five happy children running barefoot on the intense green grass. Laughs and screams filled with excitement were a beautiful melody to the women’s ears. The sun which was unhurriedly starting to set made the view and moment even more fulfilling. 

“So, how are you, G? And the kids? They seem pretty content with being back home.” Jennifer, the platinum blonde’s sister-in-law, carefully started a conversation, a hint of worry apparent in her features as she did so. 

The second the silence in between them was broken, the singer became aware that the precious peaceful moment she was miraculously having had come to an abrupt end. Gwen instantly realized what Jen was doing. This was a horrible and not so smooth attempt to make her open up about her too many suppressed feelings, an attempt to check up on her, like all the family has been trying to do for too long now, but she knew much better than to fall for that so easily. She had been avoiding this kind of talk for the last 9 months, for God’s sake.

Gwen took a large sip of her wine and dramatically sighed before answering, her words meticulously calculated. “I’m so glad my boys are finally here and they said they missed all of us like crazy! They apparently still don’t like to spend time alone with their dad and I don’t think they ever will...” 

There still was a tinge of guilty in her tone as she got reminded of how for more than 3 years now her “perfect” family has been broken, has been over. The thought of the divorce and casually talking about her failure as a wife still left a bad taste on her mouth, but it thankfully didn’t hurt as much as it did in the first year, her pain nowadays directed to a way more important mourning. 

“Yes, because Gavin is boring and an ass. I’m sure that when they’re old enough and get to decide what they do with their life, he will have to beg the kids to see him.” Jennifer not so jokingly let out, causing both of them to chuckle softly. 

“That’s true and I can’t even say I’m sorry for him.” The singer said with a shrug packed with indifference, sipping on her wine once more. 

As Gwen thought her sister-in-law had let go of the idea of prying into her life, words were spoken again, making her roll her chocolate brown eyes with ardor. 

“So... How are  _you_ , really ?”  Jen asked for the second time, adding a few more sentences to maybe convince the older woman to finally and truthfully talk about herself. It was a long shot that she had to take. “Gwen, you know you can trust me. We’re all so worried about you. You need to talk to someone about it, or about anything, really. You can’t keep everything to yourself anymore and you can’t live like this, only caring for the boys and forgetting about yourself, about your own health.” 

“Jen, after this many months... You should know I simply don’t wanna talk, you guys need to get over it. I’m _absolutely_ fine.” She cried out with exasperation, biting her bottom lip impatiently as she obviously lied through her teeth.

“Gwen, please! It’s me. I only want to help you, you know this isn’t healthy.” Todd’s wife tried once more, concern dripping from her voice. “I gave you enough space, I didn’t press you for more than 9 months. Now it’s time for you to accept my help, my shoulder to cry on and use my ears to listen to your outbursts, no matter how sad they are.” 

Dropping the now empty glass of wine over the tiny coffee table located close to where she was seated, the platinum blonde locked eyes with her pleading sister-in-law, her stare full of the emotions her mouth didn’t spill for so long. She, after a few seconds of thinking, decided to finally let her guard down, since in her mind nothing could make her feel worse than she already felt. If a person would be appeased by listening to her talk about the tragedy of her life, at least someone would feel better. The deep worry and desperation evident in Jennifer’s features was convincing enough, also. 

“You really wanna know how I feel?” Gwen coldly questioned, soon receiving a positive answer. “Okay. I feel tired. Tired of living, honestly. The only thing that keeps me from stop breathing are my boys, I have nothing else but them and my music. These two weeks without them were hell, like, without them to distract me, the only thing I can think about is her, the only thing I write about is her. My music is making me sleep a little better, tho.” She truthfully admitted and wanted to cry, to scream, but she had no tears left, no energy left, not after her hysterical melt down only four days ago.

Jen too let go of the glass she was gripping, quickly grabbing both of her sister-in-law’s unoccupied hands to give them a supportive squeeze. As much as the singer’s words pained her, hearing Gwen finally say some of her feelings out loud was a relief, was small but great progress. “Go on, let it out. I’m here.” 

“It’s just... I feel like I will never be okay. This constant pain, confusion and guilt will always be here. Like, why God felt the need to do this to me? Why did he help me get pregnant with my miracle baby girl in the first place if his plan was to take her from me seconds before she was about to come to life? Seconds before I would get to see her face, get to meet her... What’s the purpose of making me feel this massacring kind of suffering? What am I supposed to learn here?!” Taking a short pause to breathe, she continued, “The feeling and the knowledge that _she_ was supposed to be _alive_ and _I_ was the one supposed to be _dead_ will always haunt my dreams, always. If I could strangle the doctor that saved me inst-” Jen, with tears threatening to fall from her eyes, interrupted the 47-year-old enraged ramble. 

“Don’t you dare say that, Gwen Renée Stefani!” She called out, glancing quickly to the patio to see the kids, thankfully, still playing around without noticing their mothers emotional conversation. Her next words were more cautious, barely audible whispers full of hurt. “What would your baby girl do without her only parent, huh? What kind of pain would you put your boys, your whole family, even your fans through if the doctor saved her and not you? Have you thought of that? I know it hurts and it always will, I’m not trying to minimize your pain. We all suffered, are suffering, too. I only want you to know that you’re so loved and when your parents had to decide between you and your baby, you have to understand... They couldn’t end the life of their daughter, they couldn’t let their grandsons without their mother.” 

For the first time since the cesarean section that took her youngest child’s life, Gwen let her frustration get the best of her in front of someone else. She had been hiding her resentment, her guilt, her blame, hiding everything, since she left the hospital room without her baby on her arms. But now, she felt her heart cracking even more, the already broken pieces dividing themselves in half. She couldn’t be that strong in front of others anymore. Even knowing it wasn’t anyone’s fault but God’s plan, she couldn’t help but let the affliction engulf her thoughts and words.

“But they could leave their daughter without her child, right? The excruciating pain they would feel is the one they made  _me_ feel,  _are_ making _me_ feel! Is that fair?!” The superstar chokingly whispered back, the resentment she felt towards her parents’s choice of saving her life ultimately being spoken, the realization of what she didn’t even know she was feeling hitting her like the hardest slap across the face. “I- I’m...I didn’t mean... Oh God...” 

As the water she thought her body didn’t possess silently started to roll over her warm cheeks, Gwen found herself being wrapped in her brother’s wife’s comforting arms, her face immediately hiding itself against the younger woman’s long, cozy neck. 

“It’s okay, I got you.” Jen mumbled with the sweetest tone she could manage, holding her own emotions inside the best she could. “You can let go now, it’s okay to not always be so strong, G, at least in front of me, it’s okay.” 

With that said, the singer closed her red, puffy eyes and finally let herself be consoled by someone else besides her pillow and lyrics. Minutes later when all the kids took notice of the scene, Jennifer only gave them a brief smile, signaling for them to keep playing or get inside quietly, knowing her sister-in-law was not nearly ready to let go of her without completely falling apart and that the last thing she would want was to show weakness in front of her offsprings. The children seemed to understand as they let the two blondes be for the next half hour, a short amount of time that caused a huge amount of weight to leave Gwen’s aching shoulders and too shattered heart. 

* * *

When Jennifer Stefani and her two kids left the singer’s property, it was already around 7pm. With her emotional and physical self being completely exhausted after sobbing on her sister-in-law’s shoulders for over 30 painful but equally healing minutes, Gwen opted to prepare an easy mac and cheese for her boys, before putting them all to sleep. After they hungrily ate, the fun day with their cousins making them both starving and worn out, it didn’t take long for the three kids to be peacefully asleep. 

Giving a slender kiss on each of her children’s foreheads, the tired mother turned off the blinding hallway’s lights as she quietly made her way into her own bedroom. Subsequent to a hot, much needed shower, she eventually laid her drained body on the comfy bed that was for sure to big to be only hers. With a deep breath leaving her lips, Gwen attempted to close her eyes, wanting to fall unconscious more than anything. 

As she predicted it would happen, her mind couldn’t shut down. Fifteen minutes went by as she rolled around on the mattress, not a single position being good enough for her to succumb to sleep. Not wanting to lose herself on her depressing thoughts for the billionth time after making such good progress in the earlier hours of the day, the blonde decided to occupy her brain with something else, since dozing off unfortunately didn’t seem like a viable option. 

Soon, Gwen was going through channels, her left hand supporting her head as the right one clicked continuously on the TV remote’s buttons in search for something interesting to watch. She couldn’t even remember when was the last time she turned her bedroom’s television on and watched something that wasn’t just meant for kids. It was probably back when she still had a husband to do it with. 

As nothing seemed to catch her attention and she was about to completely give up and silently wait until her mind decided to let her rest in peace, a weirdly recognizable country twang reached her attentive ears, making her suddenly stop the press of her fingers against the remote. Squinting her eyes as she reached for her glasses that laid on top of one of the pillows by her side, the blonde gasped as she finally put the accessory on, her now clear vision making surprise and an uncomfortable feeling take her form as she realized to who the country voice belonged.

It was  _ him_, the guy who not only owned that twang but the brightest and most intense pair of blue eyes she had ever seen. The guy that four days before found her phone in that pizza place and was kind enough to take it back to her. He was the guy who fathered the little girl that made her fall apart inside her car by reminding the singer of the loss of her baby and he was also the one that even knowing who she was, promised to tell no one about her break down, which he and his child accidentally and unfortunately got a glimpse of.

Replaying the tense moments hurriedly inside her head, she turned the volume of the TV up and sat down straight against her bed’s headboard. 

“Is he famous? He has a tv show on NBC?” Her curiosity for the blue eyed country guy astonished her own self, the shocked words uncontrollably leaving her mouth. “Who is this man? Oh God, is that Adam?!”

Gwen almost chocked on air as she recognized Adam Levine, her lengthy time acquaintance, dividing the tv screen with the guy she coincidentally discovered the existence of just days before. She couldn’t help her awkwardly curious demeanor and quickly reached for her phone to google him. 

“What is his name again? Something with B...” She sighed, the only name crystal clear in her mind, obviously, the one of his daughter. 

Driving her attention to the tv once more to look for any clue, she was surprised again when realizing the host of the show was Carson Daly, a friend of hers for maybe too long. It was weird, seeing that man who seemed so  _normal_ on screen with such famous and _so_ not country people as Adam, Carson and...oh my...Alicia Keys and Kelly Clarkson?!

“How come I’ve never heard of this show?” Gwen questioned herself out loud, the real question being  _“How come I’ve never heard of him?”_

Typing the names she knew all together on the Google’s search bar, the blonde quickly uncovered how the singing competition reality was called: _The Voice_. Yeah, made sense by the very little time she got to watch it. Opening the show’s Wikipedia page and scrolling through the judges names speedily, it didn’t take more than two seconds for her to come across the name she really desired to know, actually, to be reminded of. 

_Blake Shelton_

Oh, now she remembered, B for  Blake . Shaking her head and softly biting her nails, the ska singer hesitated before pressing her polegar over the newly learned name, an odd interest consuming herself as she did so. She read all the information that was typed on the website with attention - country singer, television personality, forty years old, no wife or partner but a daughter. She couldn’t help finding weird as the mother of the man’s child wasn’t mentioned not even once in the whole page, yet quickly let go of that thought. 

Gwen scrolled some more and stopped as she took notice of a picture. The photograph was mesmerizing, a shot of a sweet moment shared between Blake and his daughter, where the stunning little girl kissed her father’s cheek passionately as his dimples were on full display for the camera. Without furder ado, flashes of four days ago invaded her mind again, of how happy father and daughter seemed together at that pizza place, of how close they looked, even her, who was barely functioning that day, could see the deep connection they had. 

The enchanted smile that involuntarily appeared on the platinum blonde’s face as she analyzed the portrait turned embittered in a heartbeat, as she recalled how she barely looked father and daughter in the stunning pair of blue eyes they’re both gifted with, how she treated them badly, hardly spoke with both, when all they did was be kind and help her. It wasn’t their fault that her life sucked, that the little girl reminded her of the loss she suffered or even that his child was named exactly like hers. Now all she can do is look at their picture and think  _I’m sorry and I’m grateful for you finding my phone, little bunny._

Sometimes she can’t believe how horrible of a person grief has made her and now she was consumed with the want to go back in time and change her behavior. While she sadly exhaled, the description of the image finally found her vision .

_Blake Tollison Shelton and Rose Richie Shelton_

That immediately triggered the singer to lock her cellphone, the reflex happening as a type of protection to her destroyed soul. She would never be able to say, hear or read  that name without feeling like dying, at least that’s what still seemed so.

Throwing the phone aside and closing her eyelids as an attempt to calm herself down and control her unexpectedly erractic breathing, the grieving mother rested her head against the headboard for a minute. The soundtrack inside the immense room was a combination of her respiration and the show still being broadcasted on her television. 

Gwen only made the choice to open her eyes when a deep belly laugh caught her hearing. She, strangely, was aware of who it belonged to and it didn’t make any sense, but the contagious sound brought her a good, warm feeling. Maybe it was duo to the fact that seeing someone happy made her remember of the good times she once lived, when she used to genuinely laugh too. 

Arranging her pillows so she could lay down properly, the singer got comfortable as she decided to finally pay complete attention to The Voice, realizing it was what she meant to do since the beginning, the act of really watching TV being more than 20 minutes overdue. When the episode of the reality show came to an end, Gwen was uncommonly but thankfully sound asleep. It was the first night in too many that her angel and her loss wasn’t the only topic of her dreams. The miraculously hours she slept were also filled with singing, dimples, deep belly laughs and two pairs of incredible blue eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry for taking so long to post! I was on vacations with my friends and didn’t have the time to write. 
> 
> Anyway, this second chapter explained some of what really happened with Gwen and even started to tease Blake’s life... I hope you’re excited for what comes next. I have a bunch of ideas for this story.
> 
> Please, leave some feedback to make me smile :) much love to y’all xx (promise to try and update faster this time around)


	3. III

Time went by as if it was in a hurry and for that Gwen was immensely grateful, since with each passing day she felt like it got a little easier to breathe, less hard to live. After the singer finally opened herself to Jennifer, more than 3 weeks ago, she got in her sister-in-law a confidant, someone to lean on to every time her three boys were not in her reach, or when the inspiration to write just didn’t come. And as much as it bothered her to admit it, it was way better to not go through this never ending kind of pain in silence, alone.

Talking about being solo, Jen, for more than a week now, has been begging Gwen to do the opposite, to try and be around people again. She knew making the platinum blonde leave the house would be hard, but it was way past time to forcefully burst her solitary bubble. 

“Jennifer, no! I’m not in the mood to go to a family dinner, period.” The singer huffed, while annoyedly rolling her dark eyes. “You know I’m not ready to face my parents yet. It’s been a long time since I really had to talk to them.”

The younger woman lazily leaned her body on the kitchen’s counter, sighed in an overdramatized manner, as she stared at her husband’s sister with a pleading gaze. 

“Okay, not yet... But we can go to the mall?” Jen bit the inside of her cheek, seeing the pretty negative look she received. “Go to the movies? Go to a restaurant just you, me, Todd? Go to the gym, one outside your house... or go bowling!?”

Gwen laughed out loud and turned the oven off, realizing the food was already cooked. Fully turning to her sister-in-law with arms crossed in front of her chest, she shook her head mockingly. “What did you take this morning? Go bowling?” 

“Jeez, if you’re got mock all my ideas at least contribute with some good ones, okay?” Now it was Jennifer’s turn to roll her eyes, before she smirked knowingly as something she had forgotten suddenly popped into her head. “Oh my goodness, I know what we should do!” 

As much as Gwen just wanted to stay home and drink some good red wine once more, she knew Jen wouldn’t let her get out of this “going out plan”, not anymore, at least. She’s been postponing and making up weak excuses to avoid it for too many days to not be noticed by any human with a functional brain. A “no” again would make her brother’s wife go insane and kidnap her so she would ultimately pass her house’s threshold. 

“Okay, Jennifer Stefani... What’s your great suggestion?” The mom of  four reluctantly let out, as she opened one of the cabinets and grabbed two plates to serve their late lunch, it was a little over 2pm. 

“We should go to that party... Helen’s party!” Jen exclaimed excitedly getting ahold of two knives and forks, as the singer gazed at her with a surprised expression. 

Frowning, Gwen deposited the hot casserole over the countertop, followingly putting a medium portion of the vegetable lasagna in each plate, taking a second to formulate an answer. 

“How do you...” She paused, almost dropping the food on the floor, and after a second questioning with disbelief, “Have you been looking through my phone messages?!” 

“Guilty as charged!” The caramel blonde giggled softly, as she took a sit at the counter stool and digged a fork into her just served piece of lasagna. “Your password is too easy, c’mon!” 

Scoffing, Gwen sat by her sister-in-law’s side, pushing her shoulder playfully before also taking a bite of the food. “I hate you and by the way, no, we’re not going. I didn’t even remember that was tonight, honestly.”

“Why the hell not? It’s gonna be fun!” Jennifer highly whined, as she quickly stopped eating. “I wanna go to a party with hundreds of celebrities... You owe me this!” 

“I don’t owe you anything...” The singer glanced at her plate and weakly bit her lip, knowing the words that left her mouth weren’t true. She  _did_ owe her. The next ones were, tho. “I just wanna stay home, okay?”

“Oh, you do owe me, miss. I have to talk to your parents and answer questions about you  _every single day_ since you ignore  _all_ of their calls... That’s just reason enough for you to owe me a lot.” Jen made her point, swiftly getting up the stool and grabbing Gwen’s both hands in the process. “We have an opportunity to go out since the boys are with their dad for the weekend, so we  _are_ going!” 

Being pulled out of her sit forcefully by her brother’s wife made the blonde singer gasp, as she almost choked on a piece of lasagna. “Jennifer, oh my God! What the hell are you doing?!” 

“I’m taking you out of the house so we can get our nails done and go shopping for you to slay some hearts tonight!” The younger woman said and chuckled, dragging both of them out of the kitchen, as Gwen failingly tried to break free from her grasp. “It’s time for you to finally join society again.” 

“You’re insane, I’m not leaving! We barely touched the food!” The platinum blonde desperately tried to make herself be heard. 

“We need to be completely ready by 8pm, it’s past 2, we have to go!” Jennifer blurted out and smiled wickedly as she confessed, “And I’m sorry to inform you, but you can’t get out of this one. When I went through your messages, I might have confirmed to Pharrell that you’re going and bringing a plus one, well, me!” 

With that being said, Gwen astonishingly shook her head and couldn’t help but let a laugh escape her mouth. “You’re completely crazy! I hate you so much!”

“I am and no you don’t. Now let’s go buy us some clothes.” Winking, Jennifer said with certainty, “You’re gonna thank me later.” 

Sighing, the platinum blonde reluctantly followed her sister-in-law’s footsteps to get their purses. She knew that, unfortunately, this war was one she could never win.

* * *

_ Merciless _ , that’s the word that could best describe her chosen outfit. The Moschino embroidered sheer tule black jumpsuit, which did nothing to hide her incredible figure, paired with killer also black stilettos, made her feel some way she didn’t for a pretty long time -  _ sexy _ . Light makeup and rosy lipstick finished the flawless look, as perfectly curled platinum blonde hair layed over her naked slim  shoulders. 

It was exactly 8pm when Gwen slowly descended the staircase which leaded to her mansion’s entry. By then, Jennifer had already been impatiently calling her name for over 5 minutes straight. The moment the younger woman got a glimpse of her sister-in-law’s impressive beauty, screamsof annoyance turned into silent astonishment. 

“Okay! You can calm down now, I’m here!” The singer exclaimed, as she got to the bottom of the stairs. “You look amazing, by the way.”

The mom of two had a beautiful navy sleeveless cocktail dress on, black high heels and blonde hair put into a messy side bun. She was classically stunning. 

Jennifer finally got her voice back and excitedly said, “Oh my, shut up! Look at  _ you _ ! All men will fall for you! You look mind blowing... I missed you looking this confident.” 

With a fun-loving eye roll, Gwen sensed the blush reaching her cheeks. “Well, thanks. If you’re making me go out, at least I need to look decent!” 

“You can get any men tonight, sis, make the best out of this party.” Jen commentedplayfully but truthfully. “Now let’s hurry, I wanna have fun!” 

“I’m never sleeping with anyone again, get over it.” The platinum blonde said with a shake of her head. “Let’s just got.”

“Alright, new Virgin Mary!” Jennifer joked and made a funny face. “I’m totally going to hell...”

They both shared a look and giggled, quickly walking together to the door, carrying their handbags. The driver was already outside waiting for the duo. The only thing in Gwen’s mind as she got into the backseat of the car that would take her to the William’s Hollywood Hills mansion was how she would survive this night. Probably with  a lot  of alcohol being involved.

* * *

“Gwen, boo, I can’t believe you’re here!” Pharrell exclaimed when he caught a sight of his long time friend inside the overly crowded mansion. “It’s been so long since I last saw you.”

The platinum blonde sensed a calmness engulfing her form as she heard the soothing and so familiar voice. Since the moment she and Jen got inside, only 10 minutes ago, the singer couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable, as if everyone knew she was destroyed, everyone knew what exactly happened to her. The truth was most of people she walked by  _ did _ look at her, but only duo to the facts that she looked breathtaking and that she is  the Gwen Stefani. Anyway, seeing Pharrell in the middle of so many unknown faces was quiet a relief. 

“Omg, P, I missed you so much!” She cried out regretfully, knowing the time apart was completely her fault. 

They shared a prolonged hug, letting go of each other a minute later with tight lipped smiles on their faces. 

“We won’t talk now because it’s a party, you should only have fun, but I wanna know everything, when you’re ready.” Pharrell looked at her with sympathy, giving her a slight squeeze on her right hand. 

“Soon.” She forced out sadly, sighing to speedily compose herself. “P, you remember my sister-in-law Jennifer, right? She’s married to my brother, Todd.” 

Grabbing ahold of Jen’s arm, who was already with a drink in hand and having a chat with a random woman nearby, Gwen dragged her closer to the party’s host. 

“Oh, yeah. How are you, Jen?” He asked nicely, giving her a quick hug. “How’s Todd?” 

“Hi, Pharrell! Long time no see!” Jennifer laughed briefly and added, “He’s just fine. Not a party guy, tho, just like Gwen here. I’ve had literally to drag her out of the house to come tonight.” 

With that P chuckled, glancing amusedly at both women and directing a wink to Jen. He instantly knew the statement was completely true. “Thank you for doing that. This one really needs to leave the house more.” 

“Okay, okay. What I really need is a drink. I will say hi to Helen later.” The platinum blonde pronounced loudly, causing the other two to laugh out loud an nod agreeinly. 

She left the duo, which seemed to get along just fine, to search for the much needed alcohol. Gwen knew she would never enjoy this while being sober. Walking with surprisingly ease through the crowded space, she didn’t take long to spot the huge bar, as her skin burned with the many attentive stares directed her way. Luckily, the singer found an empty stool and sat there quickly, putting her right’s hand index finger up, wanting to be noted by one of the bartenders. 

“Hi, here’s the menu.” The young bartender quickly gave her the card, patiently waiting for her order. 

“Uhm, I’m going with a margarita first.” She decided without much thinking.

In 2 minutes, Gwen was vigorously sipping on her drink, not remembering her reasons to stick with only classic red wine for so many months. She stared to the room full of peole while consuming her margarita, sitting quietly and paying much attention to her surroundings. By afar, the blonde could recognize some familiar faces, but decided to only greet anyone if they come to her, socializing not a thing she felt like doing. Maybe with more alcohol in her system her thoughts could drastically change. 

When the blonde realized, the glass on her hand was completely unfilled, causing her to huff and turn to the bartender’s direction once more. This time she ordered two shots of tequila.

She was going for the kill.

Gwen downed the first cup swiftly, sensing her throat nicely burning as the liquid passed through it. As she was about to drink the second one, a deep voice coming from her right side made her momentarily freeze. 

“I will take the same as the beautiful lady here, please.” The country drawl pronounced, causing her to snap her head in it’s direction embarrassingly too fast. 

As Gwen focused her vision on the man’s face, she almost lost her balance on the bar’s stool, her chocolate orbs unintentionally locking with a bright ocean of blue once again, after a little less than a month ago having that same mesmerizing sight for the very first time. Her skin erupted in goosebumps, the intense way they gazed into each other’s eyes too much for her to remember anything but one thing - his name. 

“ _ Blake _ .” She whispered, her tone laced with surprise. 

He directed to her the most hypnotizing dimpled smirk she had ever seen, the ones she saw while watching The Voice didn’t prepare her for the real thing. It could be the alcohol already on her system, but she could swear her heart skipped a beat with the vision. 

The tall man just wavered his stare to kindly thank the bartender for the two shots of tequila just deposited on the bar’s countertop in front of him. 

“I can’t believe  Gwen Stefani rememberers my name.” Blake suddenly exclaimed with astonishment, his face priceless as he added, “That deserves to be celebrated.” 

The cowboy took one of the tequila shot’s in one of his big hands and gulped it down as if it was the best kind of water. The blonde felt herself blushing slightly as a girly giggle left her lips. In that second, she knew she was tipsy and that this man had an effect on her, a  dangerous one. 

“I seriously can’t believe you remember my name.” He repeated, touching his heart and making the funniest face. 

Putting a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and giggling  _again_ ,  Gwen couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “Well, I actually didn’t remember it until I saw you on The Voice, some weeks ago.” 

She almost face-palmed but thankfully controlled her impulse.  _ Great, now he thinks I’m the stalker. _

“The Voice is good for something, then.” He chuckled and she immediately relaxed. “God, I love that show.” 

Biting her bottom lip to suppress another laugh, she slightly cocked her head to the side and blurted out, “You’re funny!” 

Blake laughed again, his blue eyes sparkling with the compliment he very frequently received. Somehow hearing it from her made it weirdly greater. 

“So...” Gwen seemly couldn’t close her mouth all of a sudden, so she let it speak for itself. “I would never, ever imagine to meet you in a party inside of Pharrell’s house. I know I don’t know anything about you but...” 

Cutting her off with a chuckle he said, “I actually get you. I didn’t imagine myself to be here too. One of my friends dragged me to this party because I don’t leave the house often and since I didn’t see Pharrell and Helen since he left The Voice and that was a long time ago... Well, I’m here.” 

The platinum blonde felt her chest hurt for a moment, her mind going to his daughter, but she briefly shook it off, she couldn’t go down this road, not tonight. She needed another drink. As the singer downed her other tequila shot rapidly, Blake arched his eyebrows in a tease. He did the same with his second shot. They both chuckled this time and waved to the bartender to order two more shots,  _ each _ . 

“Same, actually. My sister-in-law also dragged me here because I don’t go out at all this days.” Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “I missed P too, it had been too long since I saw him.” 

Gwen was all of a sudden opening herself to a stranger inside a party. She didn’t talk about her life to anyone for months and now, out of nowhere, this guy comes and she just can’t shut her mouth around him. It’s shocking how she can’t even bring herself to care or to be rational, as the alcohol gets in between her carelessly conversation. At least she didn’t say anything too deep, too personal,  _ yet _ .

“To those who dislike parties!” Blake exclaimed, raising his new shot of tequila in her direction. 

She giggled, taking ahold of her own shot and they slightly clinked their glasses. “To those who dislike parties!” 

As they both downed the alcohol, their eyes locked intensely. Gwen didn’t know what possessed her when her tongue slowly licked her tequila flavored rosy lips as she felt his gaze rooming over her face. His blue orbs twinkled with the sight, even turned a shade darker, making her feel something she hadn’t for much time - deep attraction. 

They kept sharing heated looks, while gulping another shot - hopefully, for Gwen’s well being, the last. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just started my first job so that’s why I took a while to update... Hope you enjoyed the chapter. (Also, I posted this in a hurry so I will correct the mistakes tomorrow, sorry)
> 
> Pleaseee, give me some feedback, i love to know what you think of my stories <3


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave your comments, please!! Sorry for taking so long to update <3

It was undeniable, they were both affected, in two different ways, by the alcohol running through their veins. Blake was on the verge of tipsiness, not too sober to measure his every word and not too inebriated to lose control of his actions. Gwen, on the other hand, was long gone, drunk enough to not even realize the proximity her own form was involuntarily creating in between herself and the tall man sitting in the stool by her side. 

The loud sound of the party going on around them was nonexistent to Gwen and Blake’s ears, as both seemingly forgot they were in the middle of a room full with hundreds of celebrities who could easily steal a glimpse of their apparently too intimate talk. They were still gazing intensely into each other’s eyes, hands holding tightly the empty glasses that minutes before were completely filled with tequila.

She felt like her body was catching on fire, those piercing ocean blue orbs easily making her lose the rest of her composure, making her reach the edge of combustion. It also could be duo to the huge amount of booze she consumed but, in that moment, the singer was sure she had never felt so attracted to someone in her entire life. 

When becoming fully aware of how her heated body inched closer to his with each passing second, he briefly looked down to see her knees slightly touching his. The contact made the blonde shiver from head to toe, while Blake had to take a deep breath to contain himself from touching her, kissing her. He knew it wouldn’t be right, she was drunk, wasn’t thinking straight and if sober,  Gwen Stefani for sure wouldn’t want nothing to do with someone like him.

For his own self control, deciding he finally needed to break the suffocating, heavy silence they were both stuck in, Blake bit the inside of his cheek as he thought of something not so stupid to say. He _incredibly_ failed. 

“Are you cold?” He questioned out of the blue, promptly receiving from her a puzzled expression. “I mean, I saw you shiver.”

Gwen couldn’t help but shake with laughter, his cheeks warming as he chuckled too, just because the sound of her laugh was that contagious. Seeing him slightly distracted, the inebriated part on her quickly acted as she got up from the stool she was sitting, deposited her hands over his jeans covered knees and leaned over to provocatively whisper in his ear. 

“You know that was  _ another _ kind of shiver...” 

Hearing him gulp and exhale deeply, she faintly pressed her mouth against his earlobe as a tease before stepping back to take her sit once again. Even drunk, Gwen  _ seemed _ to know exactly what she was doing to him. His eyes were dark when she found them again, the smile that crept into her mouth was nothing but malicious. 

“Gwen, you’re drunk.” He stated, clearly trying to contain himself from taking that smile off of her lips.

“And?” She giggled and mischievously arched her eyebrows at him. 

“You should _not say_ or  _ do _ things like that to a guy when you’re drunk, Gwen.” He explained with a shake of his head, his honesty coming through as always. “It’s too hard to resist you and every man who has been ogling you tonight will say the same.” 

The blonde felt like her whole being was about to explode. Alcohol never made her  that horny, but alcohol mixed with this dimpled man seemed to do the trick. She had zero control over her mind or body. 

“So don’t.” Gwen breathed out, carelessly touching the black material of his button down shirt. “ _Don’t_ resist me, Blake.”

He had to grip the bar’s counter tightly to prevent himself from falling to the ground and making a fool of himself in front of hundreds of people. She noticed his shock and failed to suppress a flirtatious giggle, her hand sneakily trailing random paths on his right arm.

“I don’t want to do anything you will regret.” His southern accent got thicker as his sanity began to dissipate. 

“I won’t regret it.” The blonde said with certainty, for a second she sounded everything but drunk. “As long as what you do is kiss me.” 

Blake, to contain himself from attacking her right there, nervously ran his fingers through his thick, graying curls before saying, “I want nothing more but... this can’t be real. _Gwen Stefani_ wants _me_ to kiss _her_?! You’re way too drunk.” 

Rolling her dark eyes while smiling devilishly at him, she got up from her seat again, not giving a care in the world about who could see their too intimate interactions. This time, she positioned herself in the middle of his tights, resting both her arms over his shoulders. Blake wouldn’t dare to try and resist her, knowing it was a matter of time until he completely gave in. How could he not?

“Yes, I am drunk. I wouldn’t be bold enough to ask you to kiss me if I wasn’t.” She let out teasingly, pressing her nails softly against his neck. “I want it, you want it. Let’s just... do it. Just tonight, I wanna do something crazy, kiss a stranger, kiss you.”

The lust she saw in his eyes matched the one in hers and, at that point, nothing else mattered. Gwen couldn’t think about the next day and even if she could, she wouldn’t want to. Not caring about the consequences and enjoying herself, being in the moment, was something so precious in her life this last few months, maybe even last few years. She deserved to feel carefree for at least one night, didn’t matter that she had to drink way too much and use the company - and hopefully kisses - of a handsome country guy to do it. 

“Not here.” Blake muttered as he finally gave in, his tone full with desire. 

Shuddering with the realization of what’s about to come, Gwen felt the tall man’s hands gently touching her back as he started to guide her discretely through the crowded mansion. With each step, she felt her body getting more in need of his attention, the anticipation engulfing her whole being. Taking one of his hands in hers, she deposited his palm against her waist, giving it a squeeze, a sign for him to hold her tighter. 

“People will look.” Blake leaned down to whisper close to her ear, bringing her back to touch his front teasingly, before completely letting her go. 

A barely there moan left her lips, his warm body touching her burning one was too good of a contrast for her to care about anyone seeing them. The only thing on her mind was his touch. 

“I don’t care.” She whispered back, adding impatiently as they kept walking, “Where are we going?” 

“You don’t care now, tomorrow you will.” Blake chuckled, as he reached for one of the entrances that leaded to the outdoors. “Here.” 

There were only a few people at the patio, mostly smoking, too altered to realize two new people arrived at the space. The country singer silently took the blonde’s tiny hand in his big one, leading them swiftly to a corner that was surprisingly empty. It was a hidden spot with only a big couch and two chairs in it, the view of the place being the stunning sight of the Hollywood Hills in the dark. 

“Wow, how would you know no one was here?” She questioned in awe of the hills, her drunkenness making everything more mesmerizing. 

He laughed at her reaction, sitting himself on the couch comfortably as he watched her gazing at the view. 

“Lucky guess.” Blake confessed with a shrug. “Last and first time I was here, Pharrell brought me to this to place to talk for a bit, I just thought not many people knew about it.” 

The platinum blonde directed her twinkling orbs his way, astonishment leaving her features as the malicious smile came back with full force. Taking a sit next to him without leaving any room left in between their pressed up legs, Gwen let her fingers graze his scruff carelessly, the want to touch him possessing her actions. 

“Well, thank God you guessed right, cowboy.” She giggled again, inching her face closer to his temptingly slow. “Now, can you kiss me, _please_?” 

Their noses were slightly in contact, their breaths mingling and their eyes filled with longing. Blake’s hand grabbed the back of her neck gently, the tip of his nose grazing against hers as he tangled his long fingers on strands of platinum blonde hair. 

“Are you sure?” He whispered, needing to receive that last confirmation. 

“You are kidding, right?” She scoffed, her tumb slowly swiping over his dimples. 

Smiling humorously at her response, Blake decided to ultimately end their mutual suffering. Closing his eyelids, smile still on his face, he let his thin lips touch her fuller ones, just a soft, barely there press. The small contact surprisingly made them moan, both getting overwhelmed with how amazing it felt to finally give into desire. 

They leaned in again, Gwen moving her hands to take ahold of his graying hair, fingers pulling curls slightly, as she allowed the gorgeous country man to delicately kiss her, everything at his pace. The duo exchanged long close mouthed kisses for a couple of minutes, the feeling of being drunk in alcohol gradually changing to the one of being drunk in each other. 

“Don’t stop.” She faintly whispered, forehead pressed against his, as they briefly separated to catch their breaths. 

“I won’t.” He lowly whispered back, his country drawl becoming extra appealing with each passing second.

When he couldn’t control himself anymore, Blake involved the blonde’s tiny waist in his left arm as his mouth took hers more adamantly. He felt her moving quickly and soon she was sitting on top of him, each leg hanging on one of his sides. His teeth bit purposefully on her bottom lip, the sting being easied by his tongue, as his hands squeezed her tights teasingly. 

It didn’t take long for their tongues to meet, bodies to press harder against each other and the need to grow even stronger. Her tongue laced with his deliciously and her long nails traveled over his shoulders, his hands full of expertise held her precisely where she desired. Gwen’s moans got muffled by his lips, while his every touch made her thirstier for him.

Blake released her mouth with a pop, his attention being directed to her neck for a minute. His fingers moved her platinum blonde hair to the side, completely exposing her fairy skin to him. He ran his lips vaguely against the bare neck, his nose inhaling her scent deeply. 

As he was about to explore her skin a little, maybe a lot, more, a voice, like a huge bucket of freezing ice, interrupted his actions. 

“Gwen!! Where are you?!” A female voice exclaimed, making the platinum blonde open her eyes immediately.  _ Jennifer _ . 

Jumping from Blake’s lap in a hurry, the singer tried to make herself look presentable, her drunken and horny state being a huge setback. Sighing defeatedly, she straightened her jumpsuit, followingly staring at the blue eyed man with a guilty look.

“I totally forgot about my sister-in-law... I need to go.” Gwen said in a low tone, a pout on her lips, as her palm caressed his scruff affectionately. 

“It’s fine, beautiful.” He chuckled, kissing the part of her hand he could reach. “I probably should look for Adam, too.” 

Blake got up from the couch, taking her in his arms for one last quick kiss. She had to support herself against him, her knees becoming wobbly at the feel of him. 

“Mhmm, I for sure won’t regret this tomorrow. You’re _a great_ kisser, thanks.” She winked, giving him one last peck before reluctantly letting go of his body. 

“You’re _pretty_ okay, too.” He joked, making her giggle as she left him behind with one last heated look. 

Seeing Gwen leave, he couldn’t help but lick his lips slowly, enjoying the taste of her still impregnated there. This was the only thing keeping him from pinching himself, the recent memory of sharing those moments with a woman like her too good to not be a dream. 

“I can’t believe I almost said no to her...” Blake shortly laughed to himself, cutting his daydreaming short to look for Adam, who was probably searching for him with a list of questions ready. 

* * *

“Gwen Renée Stefani, oh my God!” Jennifer exclaimed desperately when she finally laid eyes on the platinum blonde. She was clearly inebriated, too. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, bitch!” 

The singer didn’t suppress a laugh as she stopped by her sister-in-law’s side, both standing at the doors which leaded to the inside of the house. She had to think for a second about something coherent to say, the problem was that  him and  his touch  were seemingly the only thing her brain could come up with. 

“Uh, I just came out for some fresh air.” Gwen said in a not so convincing way, her teeth sinking on her lower lip a clear sign that she was utterly lying. 

“For more than a whole hour?” Jen opened a teasingly smile, crossing both arms in front of her chest. “Riiiiiight!”

Rolling her eyes and feeling a slight blush engulfing her cheeks, she didn’t give in. “Believe what you want, darling.” 

“You’re drunk!” The mom of two accusingly exclaimed, the hand that wasn’t clutching the handbag going in front of her heart. “This makes me so happy!” 

Giggling, Gwen answered, “And you’re drunk... er. We will be so screwed tomorrow” 

Gasping funnily but without denying anything, Jennifer bumped her left shoulders against the platinum blonde’s right one as they started to make their way back to the party going on full mode inside the mansion. Jen took some seconds to analyze her husband’s sister while they walked into a more lighted room, the evident glow of alcohol, giddiness and her rosy smudged lipstick giving her away too easily. Not even tipsiness would make her blind to it. 

“I hope he was a good kisser. I can’t believe you finally left the Virgin Mary story behind!” The younger Stefani whispered with a giggle, causing the singer to look at her with an astonished expression. “I hate to break it to you, sis, but your lipstick is not in the right place.” 

Muttering an  oh fuck  under her breath, she grabbed Jen’s hand hurriedly and directed them both to the closest bathroom without another word. Once they were both inside, she locked the door and turned to the mirror to take in the mess that the handsome country man had made.

“Dammit, I don’t even know where I left my handbag.” Gwen huffed, taking some paper to try and take off her ruined lipstick. “My lipstick was in there.” 

“Okay, so he was a good kisser and definitely handsome...” Jennifer affirmed, adding for clarification, “You wouldn’t have lost your things if he wasn’t a distracting catch.”

Listening to the on point observations, the singer slightly bit her lip, her cheeks burning once again with only the thought of him. She quickly finished fixing her makeup the best way possible, turning to her sister-in-law with a dramatic sigh. 

“Yes, he is a hell of a kisser and pretty damn good looking, okay?” Gwen confessed, the alcohol in her causing the words to spill with no filter. “Now can you please help me find my handbag? I really don’t know where it is.”

“Well, alright! I wanna know who he is...” Jennifer let out a girly squeal, before suddenly getting more serious. “But first, to find your handbag, I don’t wanna walk this entire immense mansion to look for it, so you have to remember all the places you’ve been since we arrived. Think hard with your alcohol damaged brain.” 

Rolling her eyes, the singer answered in a heartbeat. “Alright, that’s easy. The front door, the bar, this bathroom and the hidden spot.” 

“ _Hidden spot_?” Jen maliciously questioned, winggling her eyebrows in a tease. “Now I wanna know who you kissed even more! He has to be famous as fuck, tell me, I’m-“ 

“Just shut up and let’s go.” Gwen whined, unlocking the bathroom door in a swift move. 

“Fine. Let’s check the bar first, I need another drink to be able to stand you.” Jennifer provoked, a loud laugh followingly leaving her mouth as the platinum blonde gave her the finger. 

The duo walked side by side through the crowded room, some familiar faces making them stop to say hi every four steps they took, drinks even being offered to the blondes by friends such as Chelsea Handler and Usher. It was hard to say exactly when was the last time Gwen socialized with old acquaintances, or with anyone really, but the inebriated version of herself seemed to enjoy it, even a little too much. As the singer and her sister-in-law seemingly couldn’t stop talking with every person that came into view, their arrival to the bar was prolonged for several minutes. 

Both blonde’s where about to excuse themselves from a conversation with Helen after wishing her the happiest birthday, when someone calling Gwen’s name stopped them on their tracks. A chill ran through the singer’s spine as she instantly recognized who that voice belonged to. Turning her head to face the handsome cowboy, she watched him approach her with no one else but Adam Levine walking closely by his side. 

“Hi, Gwen! I missed you.” The Maroon 5 lead singer said energetically, giving her a quick hug. 

“Hi, Adam. I missed you too.”She gave him a tiny smile, her attention purely on the tall guy next to him. 

“So, the sasquatch and I found a handbag on one of the bar stools and he  coincidentally knew it was yours.” Adam commented, confusion comically evident on his features. “I just can’t believe you two know each other, how did  that happen?” 

“Uhm, life!?” The platinum blonde chuckled slightly.

“Just ignore him.” Blake chimed in, smiling with her handbag being held securely in his left hand. “Here. You’re lucky I found it.” 

Gwen was aware of the many pairs of eyes focused on them but the intoxicants in her just wouldn’t let her care. A flirtatious smirk appeared on her features, her fingers teasingly grazing his as she reached out to take the expensive accessory from his possession. 

“I was about to search for that, thank you, cowboy. I am _indeed_ lucky.” She directed him a tight lipped smile, her chocolate eyes showing him way more their gratefulness. 

If she wasn’t in a heated staring contest with the tall country guy, Gwen would have noticed how Adam curiously arched his eyebrows at their interaction. Jennifer, however, felt realization hitting her as her jaw almost touched the floor. She wiggled her gaze in between the good looking country singer and the platinum blonde, a smirk growing on her mouth, as she contemplated how close they were getting to one another without even noticing. 

“I can’t believe Gwen kissed Blake _fucking_ Shelton... ” Jen frantically whispered to herself, as she observed the scene in front of her with a huge smile and several questions on the tip of her tongue. 

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been playing with this idea in my head for over a month and I was going mad without writing it down. I finally decided to do it 2 days ago and finished the first chapter tonight. I was not sure about posting this or just keeping it to myself but then I remember the best part in writing is reading the reactions and criticisms. With that being said, please, tell me what you think of this AU idea, it’s completely different from anything I’ve ever written so I’m kinda nervous about it.  
> I’m sure no one can guess what’s to come next...  
> Well, love you all and hope you enjoy this story. Happy Christmas Eve! - Isa


End file.
